


Seeds of Crimson

by TinyRubySeeds (S_Kassandra180)



Category: American Horror Story: Apocalypse, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Amnesiac!Reader, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Inspired by Hades and Persephone (Hellenistic Religion & Lore), Language, Mentions of the start of a Nuclear War, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rewriting of Canon Events, Slow Build, Slow Burn, What maybe seen as Evil!Reader
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-21
Packaged: 2019-11-27 10:20:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18193289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Kassandra180/pseuds/TinyRubySeeds
Summary: For the past year, you have been a drifter. Living out of a backpack, trying to chase a past you don’t remember, under a name that is not your own. However, everything changes when you a dragged underground with the survivors of the Apocalypse in a strange place known as “Outpost 3”.  Amidst trying to stay alive under the cruel eye of Miss Venable and her right hand Ms. Mead,  You start to get echoes of memory as well as feeling you are more than just a girl trying to find a past…You’re a powerful force, trying to protect someone…Someone who means the world to you. And the mysterious Langdon from the Cooperative whose recently come to find those to fill his “Sanctuary” may be the only person left alive who holds the key…





	Seeds of Crimson

_“She who walks the floors of Hell finds the key to the gates of her own Heaven,_

_buried there like a seed.”_

_-Segovia Amil_

 

**_00:02:30 Before the Bombs Dropped_ **

“Miss? Miss?!” A voice asked, breaking you from your thoughts.

You could just hear it, official and important over the notes of music you had playing on the cracked touchscreen phone you had gotten for cheap a few towns back. You were tempted to ignore it though, take another sip from the steaming drink in front of you as you continued to write in the open notebook. Thinking whoever it was calling out was trying to get the attention of someone else as was normally the case.

Understandable, there were quite a few people at this hole in the wall diner near the truck stop. Of course, they wouldn’t be calling out to you, you were just another face in the crowd right? Just another person passing through. Then the voice spoke three simple words, words that made you know that it wasn’t just anyone they were trying to get the attention of.

“Miss J Doe?!”

It felt like the pull of an invisible leash around your throat and you had to swallow hard to keep the wave of bitterness down. But you couldn’t help the sigh as you tiredly yanked the earbuds out of your ear. Not for the first time in this past year you wondered how you could answer to a name you knew wasn’t really yours but… It’s not as if you could correct them in your current state. Still didn’t make you any less annoyed as you glanced to the owner of the voice, standing by your booth. When you saw them you had to blink to be sure what you were seeing was right.

Now, you had been living on the road for a bit and but you’ve seen all sorts at the hole in the wall, diners like this one. Every state, hell every city, seemed to have them packed with families, truckers, tourists, drifters, businessmen… Almost anyone from anywhere just passing through or stopping before they moved on. Normally you would have pegged these two as businessmen (well businessman and women). But something about them stopped you from doing so.

Something off…

Something that you couldn’t pinpoint but you could feel it all the same, and - you may not have much to your (replacement) name but- instinct was one thing you held close as it was sometimes all you had.

Maybe it was because their night-black suits were far too pressed, too crisp, too uniform to call them “blue collar workers”. It didn’t help that their fabric and style were so similar that you would swear they were twins, or robots from some sort of assembly line if it weren’t for the fact their features and skin tones were very different.

Instantly you felt uneasy. Your mind flashing to what was currently the earliest memory you had. There had been a pair of men in black suits just like those who had come to the hospital a few days after you had been admitted. You hadn’t seen their eyes but you had felt them looking at you with dark sunglasses.

They had said they were there on behalf of your relatives in some Academy down south, and they had come to collect you. That had set warning bells off for a few reasons Relatives that hadn’t bothered to come themselves was one thing, referring to you as an object was another, but there was something else. Something that urged you to get as far away as you could…

… _They had been lying. Artfully so but lying all the same._

So were these people with them? Were they going to lie about some relative like the others had? _Does it really matter?_ Your mind supplied seeing how they looked down at you sitting there with a notebook you had snagged at some truck stop outside of Palos Verdes open before you, a cheap pen you may have been chewed the end of. You could see them, past their emotionless demeanor, wrinkle their noses at your ripped jeans, gray shirt and a plaid button up you had thrown on cause the bus was either far too hot or too cold to not have a jacket or something nearby. Already you decided whatever they were selling, you weren’t buying. Not by a long shot.

“Who wants to know?” You asked flippantly.

You snapped the notebook in front of you shut (not like you were going to get anything written down with the want to be Men in Black before you), the shiny image of daffodils sending a beam of light streaking across your face in the later morning light but you ignored it. You were probably being a be dramatic but that was trick you had long since learned that got people to back off. The more aggressive you were, the more people seemed to leave you alone so you could move on like you were always itching to do like a fix you never could have enough of.

Later you would wonder if perhaps you should have said, or done, something else. Perhaps you could have read your situation a little differently as the two before you were a bit different than those at the hospital as you would come to know soon enough. Either way, as the two suits looked to each other, the women nodding to the man before turning back to you.

“You need to come with us, ma’am.” She said officially, importantly.

Her tone made it clear you didn’t dare question her order. Her, with her hawk-like face, dark brown hair slicked back without a strand out of place, everything far too perfect to be questioned or defied.

_Like hell I wouldn’t,_ You thought to yourself with a flash of anger, feeling the bite of fingernails in your skin before you grabbed your things. The urge to run one you could no longer ignore.

“And why would I want to do that, hmm?” You asked, tone icy.

After snatching up the notebook and pen, you reached for the backpack that sat next to you in your booth. It was a bit of a large one filled with the contents of your life or at least what your life was now anyway. Something told you that you would need to grab that bag here soon or never see it again. You didn’t know what these people had up their sleeves but… You hadn’t gotten this far thanks to any kind of confrontation. Running may not be much of a way to live but it was living all the same, what these people were wanting from you…

Well, you’ve heard the horror stories. Who knew what they had planned?

“It’s urgent you come with us Miss Doe,” This time the man spoke.

This time you chanced a glance over to him, he looked a little older than the women, lines on his dark face echoing a strange whisper of something that made you pause. It was like he knew something was coming.

They both knew it.

Maybe you should have suspected something, and later you would wonder. But in the moment you snorted rudely, zipping up the bag and slowly started to slide toward the strangers to get out of the booth. Luckily they backed up a little, but the second you stood up you noticed… They were flaking you on both sides. As if they suspected you were wanting to take off like a rabbit and vanish into the forest of buses nearby.

_Not really good odds on my end,_ You thought

“What is it about me makes you people think I hop into cars with strangers wearing suits?” You asked.

A spare hand went to your pocket, pulling out a few crumpled bills for the meal from your pocket onto the table. If this went south and you needed to dash then at least you were going to pay. You may have been a nobody living on the road but… You weren’t going to run leaving some poor waitress hurting.

With that, you quickly started to think of an exit plan, chancing a glance past the suits. There was a place to the side of the man- you were betting he would be the slower one with his age and (you may not look it but) you had gotten pretty fast from a life of running - you could dash on through. Straight to the front door and… Suddenly you noticed something, something that made your blood run cold.

There were people beyond that door, dressed in black tactical body armor. If it weren’t for the lack of a logo you would have sworn they were SWAT and they were looking in expectantly… Rather they were watching you through the glass door.

Watching and waiting for what you did next.

_Bastards aren’t playing around this time… Fuck,_ You thought as your stomach dropped. Brain trying to spin another plan and fast.

“Miss Doe we are going to have to insist,” The suited man told you suddenly stepping in your line of sight as if he knew what you were looking at.

You looked to him, ready to glare when a few words left his lips. Words you didn’t expect then and threw you for one of the biggest loops you had since you had woken up after being found dehydrated on the side of some freeway by a guy who swore you were a dumped body.

“They said your survival is of great importance to the human race.”

_...What?_ Your thoughts screeched to a halt.

You swung around to look the guy dead in the eye. Was he for real? You studied his dark eyes, looking for the tells, searching for the feeling, the barest hint of a lie. But you saw nothing, felt nothing.

For a moment you were stunned and then you shook it off. _Just my luck,_ You thought. Thinking that whatever strange sixth sense you had was gone again. Just like it always was when you really needed.  

_Figures._

“Sure…” You snorted about to sidestep them when suddenly the women went to grab your arm.

Jerking back, you gave her a dirty look when suddenly she spoke.

“I would recommend you come with us _now_ , Miss Doe. We will not take no for an answer.”

Of course, you wouldn’t, You would remember thinking then before coming to a decision: If they wanted you then those crazy weirdos were going to have to drag you in. Kicking and screaming cause you were not going with them.

No way in hell.   

You glanced to your plate of half-eaten french toast sitting on the table, covered in a few stray bits of fruit and powdered sugar. _Well… This is going to be a damn shame… French toast was pretty good here too,_ You thought. You reached for the plate with your spare hand as though you were going to grab a bit of fruit.

“Guess there is no help for it then...” You made a show of sighing; gripping the bag a little tighter, raising it up like you were going to shoulder it.   

And then at the last moment...

You jerked your hand grabbing the edge plate and chucked it at the women like a frisbee. She must have not seen it coming as she had barely had time to gasp when the plate of food went flying for her face.   

As if expecting this the man reach forward but you were ready too. All it took was a swing of the bag and _Smack!_ The hit of worn stained leather with the bag's contents was enough of a hit that you knew would stun him, that bag was heavier then it looked after all.

But the stun was all you needed as you took the opening and dashed past them both, the bag still held tightly in your hand although your arm screamed at you with its weight. You veered sharply back to the kitchen as you heard the front door slam open with the sound of rattling glass but you didn’t dare look back to see if the tactical guys had burst in.  Besides, you didn’t have too from the commotion around.

The diner patrons were gasping and screaming, suddenly seeing your burst of violence and what looked like a SWAT team bursting in after you. You dashed through the swinging doors to the kitchen dodging a waitress who gasped barely moving her tray away from you as you roughly pulled backpack over a shoulder.

You tore through the bubbling, sizzling kitchen ignoring the thumping of backpack as knowing your back would hate you for it later. Running as fast as you could to the back of the building, hearing heavy footfalls behind you. But you knew that there had to be some sort of door or something in the back you could escape out of.

_Thank goodness for fire codes_ , You thought when you saw the vivid red sign above the door screaming out EXIT in neon letters. Sprinting as the footfalls grew louder. You felt a rare grin cross your face as you burst through the back door and you had barely made two steps when you saw them.

Another small group of those men in tactical body armor waiting for you.

_Shit!_

You twisted on your feet (how you managed to not twist your ankle you will never know) to go right. Hoping that maybe their armor would slow them down, even though you could feel your lungs start to hate you with a burning passion

“GET HER!” You could hear someone scream and then the group of tactical men sprung into action.

You had barely made it a few paces when one of them all but tackled you into the damn wall. Your shoulder hitting the brick hard enough to make you cry out but nothing felt like it was popped out (or so you hoped).  Quickly you pushed off the wall to slam back into them. Knocking them off balance. As soon as you pushed one of them back a pair of arms, like iron bars, wrapped around your waist. You jerked an elbow back into (what you hoped) was their gut, bucking into him wildly as another one of them grabbed your arm right arm. You kicked at everyone you could reach. Feeling the old boots that were far too big for you connect once or twice.

“Get her down!”  You could hear someone scream out.

Another one of them moved towards you. Bad move, they were right in front of you. With an angry huff, you jumped up, kicking both legs up like you were trying to do a dropkick, hoping to break the grip “bear hug” had on you and kick the other in one go. The kicked worked as you could feel the soles of your boots hit them solidly in the stomach. It didn’t break the grip of the guy who held you, but you felt it give slightly. So did he as you could see his eyes widen.

“Stick her!” You could hear him shout in your ear.

_Like hell, you will!_

You tried to jerk, to fight. _Let me go, dammit! Let me go!_ Your thoughts whirred frantically. Suddenly someone was roughly jerking your head back with your hair. You cried out as your scalp screamed with the pain. There was a flurry of movement when you felt the painful pinch at your neck and then a sensation… Like a burning under your skin. You could see the white end of the plunger of the syringe that one of those damn suited bastards had in the corner of your eye. In that moment your anger reared up, screaming.

“NO!” You roared.

There was a brief moment where nothing happened like the world became still. And then…

**_BOOM! CRASH!_ **

There was an almighty jerk, a force like a shock wave after a bomb exploded. You could hear the crash of glass behind you. In a blink, you saw the tactical guys that were surrounding you be thrown back like dolls as you were jerked forward. You felt the man’s grip around your waist disappear as you started to fall to the concrete. Whatever had just happened knocking you off balance. Luckily, you had enough time to pull your arms up, falling onto your forearms. You cried out as the pain from the bite of the concrete run up your arms, up your wrists, up to your fingertips and finally up your shoulders, yet it saved you from hitting your head.

Your racing mind didn’t understand what had just happened. Only that once again, all those people were away from you now.

_Now go!_

You tried to get to pull yourself off the ground only to gasp. That drug must have been something else as your arms felt heavy, your body ached, your head was starting to spin. _No_! You tried to pull yourself up again, arm’s starting to strain as if any strength you had was leaking like a sieve.

Was that the drug or… What just happened to get them away from you?  Either way it was dragging you down into darkness.

You could hear footsteps however they sounded echo-y in your ears, faint and far away. You looked over, trying to focus your eyes as your vision was getting foggy, watery, …

Blurry

“Did she...? Did she just fucking do that?!” You could hear one of them say.

_Do what? Almost kick your ass?_ You wanted to ask but your mouth wasn’t working as you tried to fight against the drugs. You could fight this…  You could fight this! You had done it before. You could do it now!

“Don’t know.” You heard another say. “But as long as I’ve worked with the Cooperative… Learned not the ask.”

_The fuck is the Cooperative…?_ Your brain thought growing more and more fuzzy and foggy. Why did you have to run now? Couldn’t you just sleep here on this bit of pavement? Would it be so bad?  

_No!_

_You had to go!_

But you were getting weaker and weaker. The edge of your vision was blackening and it was getting darker as everything was fading into nothing.

“Someone grab her before she brains herself,” You could swear you heard someone say before you finally broke under the influence of the drug.

Pitching forward into the pavement of the parking lot.

 

\---

... _It was the closest thing you had to a memory you had. You weren’t sure it was that exactly but it felt like it all the same. Everything felt so real._

_You could feel the ache in your bare feet as they struck the ground with each step, feel the rich earth as it seeped into cuts and scrapes.  Your lungs burned as you breathed in the scent of earth, leaf mold, pine, and whatever else was in this dark forest. The light was dim, so very dim yet the moonlight was still enough for you to see. Yet it didn’t stop you from feeling the sharp whip of vines, the harsh scratch of thorns, the sharp cuts of branches score up your bare arms angry and red as you ran through the wood. The plants around you tearing at your clothes like hands._

_But you had to keep going, keep running._

_Go… Go… Go!..._

… **Suddenly you weren’t running. You standing before someone… But the pain you felt looking at them... You wished you could run.**

**“Don't go,” A voice pleaded, you could hear the tears in every single letter of the words uttered.**

**You didn’t know that voice but you knew the boy it belonged to was breaking your heart all the same. You couldn’t see a face but you could make out their eyes… Eyes you couldn’t make out the color of but knew the pain in them was like a knife to the heart. Tears forming in their corners.**

**In fact, a knife would have been kinder...**

_… And then you were running again. But now…_

_Now you weren’t alone._

_You could hear them behind you, like beasts in the brush, sticks snapping and crunching the earth thundering under their feet as they ran to catch up. Far away at first and then… Getting closer, and closer, and closer. …_

… **“Take it back! Tell… That you can’t do it!”**

**It was strange but their voice was like the tuning of a radio now. Certain words were in focus. Others were lost in a mental static and you wished you could understand.**

**“I have to…” You heard a new voice say back.**

**Wait… You knew that voice. Was that...** _Your voice?_ **It couldn’t be. It sounded so different. It sounded so resigned yet so full of conviction.**

**“No! I could…” You could hear them start but then that voice (yours?) cut them off.**

**“It’s the only way!”...**

… _You were jerked dizzily back to the woods again. You could hear these beings behind you shouting things… Things you didn’t understand yet their voices were like the snarls and growls of monsters. You feared slowing down, you feared looking back as you knew that the second you did they would be upon you. And then… They would tear you apart, like a rabbit thrown to a pack of ravenous dogs. You could hear screams behind you suddenly. You could smell blood as it hit the earth- rich, metallic, and heady making you sick to your stomach._

_What was happening?_

_Did you dare look to see it?_

_No._

_You told yourself that you didn’t want to see. Not after the last scream and that terrible fleshy-wet tearing sound you heard in the darkness. Besides, there were others behind you… Gaining on you. Turning back would slow you down._

_Let it get them, You thought. Make it so they leave me alone!_

_You just want to be left alone!_

… **“I will find you!” That voice seemed to echo in your head… in the forest all around you, above the static that seemed to try to drown it.**

**You could make out the color of their eyes now… In fact, it was the only color you could see.**

Blue... They were blue.

**“I swear. Somehow, someway, when… Gone…. I will find you!”...**

… _Suddenly you felt a pull at your ankle and pitched forward into the dirt, the sensation of falling making you yelp but paint seemed so far away. You tried to scramble up when suddenly you felt something grab your leg. You screamed the sound ringing in your ears, fingernails dug into the earth as you tried to get yourself up and jerk away…_

_Those fingernails did naught but score the earth itself as the grip tightened on the earth, and pulled you back to the monster that had finally caught you_ …

\---

...You awoke with a start, breathing hard. Bleary, and confused, the light sharp on your eyes as everything was just too damn bright. You felt a grip on your arms as you were dragged. Thinking you were still trapped in that nightmare you tried to stand, to your feet to jerk away to run only to jerk as you almost tripped but the hands at your arms tightened. You could hear someone snap something but your groggy mind couldn’t make out the words as you whimpered like a wounded animal, trying to pull away. It was then you heard the teeth grinding squeak of a metal door being jerked open and then you were thrown forward.

You had barely gotten your to balance enough to land on your knees as your stomach churning, still smelling the ghostly scent of forest and earth as the sharp pain of metal hitting your knees jerking you into consciousness. It all flooded back into your mind with the force of a truck slamming into a brick wall:

The diner, the suits, the tactical men, tearing through the kitchen, fighting back and then…  Something happened. Something that had caused them to drug you.

_You had been kidnapped._

You heard something be thrown beside you, hitting the grate with a loud echoing thud making you jump away from it almost into chain links that seemed to wall off this strange area. Not caring to see what it was just yet you swung around, a slew of curses under your breath when the door was slammed shut. A door that you realized now sounded heavy, and just as metal as the grate you had landed on but that didn’t stop you from scrambling to your feet and going to the door.

“Get your ass back over here! What the fuck?!” You screamed out, smacking the metal light enough to not cause any more damage to yourself (you could feel the bruises forming on your arms and the burn of a scrape on your face stung like a bitch) but enough to make a racket.

It was useless, you could almost hear the footsteps as the shapes that had to unceremoniously toss you into the room drew away. You cursed up a storm, lightly kicking the door with the sole of your boot before screaming in frustration. The echo of the racket caught your attention. You swung around to be…

Well, surprised.

It looked like you were in some sort caged landing in a mine shaft or was it an elevator shaft? It was hard to say but the concrete walls and the fluorescent lights didn’t offer any comfort or any answers. Nor did the chain links that kept you from the pitch black darkness you could see beyond another landing below

_What the fuck was going on?_

Your mind was burning with the questions and you so desperately wanted answers but from the looks of it… You were going to have to wait for that.

_Like I haven't done a lot of that already,_ You thought sourly before turning to whatever it was they had thrown in the room with you.

Thoughts thudding to a stop when you saw it, _your bag_ , sitting there on it’s front from being tossed in. You had to admit that shocked you. Why had they grabbed it? Did they… Did they know of its importance? But if so then why-?

You shook your head, deciding not to care right as you ran to it. All but falling to your knees, ignoring the pain, as though it were some sort of god you had lost and found faith in as you pulled the bag up right. You jerked the zipper open and looked inside. You could have cried with relief when you saw it.

You could see a few of your jeans, a few shirts, socks, panties, bras, a small resealable bag of chocolate covered pomegranate drops and… _The notebooks were here… They weren’t in some alley behind a diner. They were safe_. In fact, all of them looked untouched.

Taking a deep breath of relief that what you had of your life was still here with you, you tore through the rest of the bag only to find _it_ there sitting there. In fact, you almost had a bit of a shock as it was still in there just where you threw it in…

_Your cell phone._

_Seriously?_ You thought, utterly shocked for a moment. You didn’t think these people were that stupid. Didn’t they know that these things could be tracked? What kind of kidnappers…?

Ignoring the strange feeling in your stomach that something was more than off. You snatched it up from the bag to see the answer in the form of two words on your dimmed lock screen _.  No Signal… Damn it_ . You groaned. _Well, that certainly explained it._ It was then you noticed the cell was buzzing, in your hand like had gotten... A notification? Odd… When had that happened? You had never given that number to anyone. Hell, you mostly used it to call bus tickets and hotels on the occasion you wanted to lose some beater you got off the internet for cheap.

Confused you typed in your passcode. Noticing that the battery was at _15%_ now, not the _80%_ it had been when you had been listening to music in the diner.

_How long had those assholes knocked me out for?_ You half wondered as you clicked enter.

You didn’t have to go searching for your answers as to what your phone was buzzing about. It was the first thing to greet you. A stark white box on a blue background. The world all be screaming at you:

**Urgent Alert**

BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO LOS ANGELES

SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL

_No… No way. This had to be a mistake right? Like that incident in Hawaii?_ Your brain started to whirr once more as you tapped it to get a better look. It was then you saw the time received:

_15 minutes ago._

If it was a drill they would have said something right? You couldn’t have been to far down in this place when they sent the retraction right?

_Right?_

Suddenly the door burst open and you quickly shoved the cell in your back pocket, going back to the far wall holding the bag close as though they were going to rip it away from your grasp. Before you were those tactical guys. But they weren’t alone.

This time they were dragging in a girl who was she fighting back every step of the way. Kicking and struggling with about as much luck as you had earlier.

“- This has _shit_ to do with that protest! Let me go!” She was shouting along with a few other things that would have put a few truckers you had met to shame.

Suddenly they all but threw her inside just as they did you. But she seemed to have expected it as she only stumbled a few steps before swinging around as the door was slammed shut, running to the door.

“This is not…! Hey, get back here!”  She cried out, slamming her hands against the door. “Hey! Listen to me!”

“They won’t do it, you know.” You said above the banging taking a few steps until you were against the wall, sliding down against the stone, hiding the dying phone behind you still (not knowing if you could trust her with that info). “It’s no use.”

The girl swung around and flattened her back against the door, eyes wide with fear and suspicion. From what you could tell she was younger than you at least by a bit. Dressing in jeans and a washed blue jacket over a terra cotta colored bringing out her bronze features. She was pretty, you thought with doe brown eyes, and wildly curly ebony hair held back in a high ponytail. You held your hands up as if to say, _Hey I got nothing to hurt you with,_ When you spotting her fear.   

“What?” She said unsure, you weren’t sure if it was you or the situation.

Hard to say.

“Those people that dragged you in.” You told her. “I don't think they are going to come back unless it’s with someone.”

Now you couldn’t be sure but instinct told you that you were right. Besides, it looked like they were gathering people. _Kids,_ your brain prompted thought looking at her. Is she important to humanity as well or whatever shit they were spouting?

The girl looked at you stunned, looking back at the door before she turned to you with a relenting sigh.  Her dark doe eyes seemed to widen when she really took in your disheveled appearance. You were betting she probably noticed the bruises on your arms and the scrape on your face (it was probably turning red now).

"Are you okay? How long have you been here?" She asked.

You shrugged.

"A bit you think, but not too long," You told her, tilting your head as you looked up at her from where you sat on the grated floor. "They knock you out too?"

Her eyes widened for a bit but she shook her head.

"No, but they woke me up from a dead sleep in my cell. " She admitted sheepishly.

_Your cell?_ That caught your attention, you raised an eyebrow at her, noticing she was suddenly unable to meet your eyes.  

"I had been... Kinda leading an on an unauthorized protest on campus. One minute I was in holding and the next they were dragging me to a car."

_Like I’m going to look down my nose at that,_ You thought to yourself with a smirk. You barely knew her but already you liked this kid, she had a bit of a spark to her. Something you could relate to in your own way. She looked up at you, her face slightly confused but curious. As if she was expecting some other reaction for being found in prison.

"Trust me… I can't judge after all but committing assault to get away.”

The girl looked at you surprised and then chuckled a little.

“No wonder they knocked you out.”

You felt another small smile despite the situation and you noticed the girl seem to relax a little as she pushed off the door and started to look around. Probably noticing the same things you did, before she turned to you.

“What’s your name?” The girl asked you.

You had to try to hide a wince. Of all of the phrases, of all the combinations of words in the world, you hated that one the most. It was so simple to most but to you…

It wasn’t. Not by a long shot.

Although you had learned how to lie to keep yourself alive, to keep yourself running (You had to run… You didn’t know why but you had to keep moving until… Until it happened whatever that was), it still dug at you that people could ask that question so damn easily and expect an easy answer.  Normally, you’d give some off the wall name, like some amalgamation of names you had read in books or heard in TV shows. But… Given the circumstance, you couldn’t do that to her. Maybe it was because of the fact it was the end of the world (was it really? Still hard to believe as it felt like you were eating French Toast in a normal world a few minutes ago despite what the clock said on your dying phone), maybe it was something else but…

Something about this girl told you that you could be honest with her.

Later you would wonder why.

“Don’t know,” You replied.

There was a beat of silence at this. You glanced up to see the girl looking at you as though you were speaking in tongues.

“What?” She said puzzled.

“Said I don't know my name,” You admitted.

The girl looked to you shocked.

“What do you mean? Are you saying that you -?” She said as realization dawned.

You nodded.

“Don’t remember it? Yep, don’t remember it or my name, or my birthday, or… Anything else about myself.”

_The only thing I think I remember is a forest, running, and a pair of blue eyes but even I’m not sure that it’s real,_ You thought but you didn’t dare tell her. It wasn’t important.

“How… What?” She said trying to understand. “Was it the drugs they gave you or did they hit you that hard?”

She looked honestly so concerned as she all but crossed the landing in a few steps before she knelt before you. She looked as though she was going to ask to see your head before you held a hand up.

“Nope... That’s just been the story my life for the past year.”

She winced, you could see the pity in her eyes but… It didn’t hurt for some reason like most pity did. You couldn't pinpoint why just yet. Who is this girl? You wondered.

“Shouldn’t you…? Shouldn’t you be in a hospital or something?” The girl asked concerned.

You sighed.

“That’s the kicker…” You told her. “I remember everything else to function, but who I am is a great big question mark. They’ve been calling me J Doe though so… Guess you can go with that.”

You watched as the girl before you as she chewed on her lip. She looked guilty as if she felt bad for asking but it wasn’t some faked thing like most you had met when you told them what you remembered only to try to get away as quickly as possible. It was then you realized why it didn’t hurt, seeing her feeling sorry for you... She actually meant it unlike those other people, and for some reason, that soothed you.

“Wow, suddenly my whole  sleeping thing in prison doesn’t sound all that bad on my record.” She confessed.

You snorted.

“Perspective right?” You replied.

“I’m Emily though by the way, JD.”

_JD?_ You thought but shrugged it off. _Guess it’s better than just a letter or just being called “Doe”._

“Nice to meet you, shitty circumstance excluded, Em.”  You told her. “They say anything to you when they showed up?"

“They didn’t say anything, only that I needed to come with them."

"Well, that's always a good sign." You replied.

“What about you?” She asked you.

“Only that I’m important. Thought it was bull until…”

You reached back into your back pocket and pulled out your phone.

“No way…” Emily breathed.

She quickly reached for the phone before she stopped. Emily looked back to you, questions on her face.

“Wait… Service?” she asked.

“Yeah,” You nodded. “Not sure where we are but…”

You glanced over to the large shaft that ran down into the depths beside you.

“We must be pretty far down or there’s enough concrete around us to kill the signal.”

“Shit,” Emily said. “That means if they sent a text back on that Missile Alert then… You probably won’t get it.”

It was then a terrible feeling erupted. One you didn’t want to voice but you felt it all the same. No… It wasn’t a feeling. This was something you _knew_. Before you could focus on it you heard a commotion  on the landing below you both and the door swung open

“Tell me where I am, I have rights!” You could hear someone say (A boy you thought)

“No, you don’t.” Another voice said and you recognized that voice instantly.

_Older suit._

Your eye’s met Emily’s as she gave you a look. You nodded, quickly shoving your dying cell in your bag and jerking zipper shut before you got back up to your feet. Emily was faster though, she had gotten back up and walked over to the door as if to hear better what was going on. You had made it halfway across the landing when they pushed someone in the caged landing below.

You could make out a blue jacket and short brown hair when the door slammed shut behind them. Instantly the figure below ran to it just as Emily had.

“Hey!” The figure below you both cried out, banging on the metal door, you could tell from the voice it had to be another kid.

You were right, it was a boy this time.

“Hey!” He said

“Calm down,” Emily told him softly, voice carrying down below.

He stopped both jumped and swung around to look up at you both.

“It’s okay.” The girl with you said.

“Yeah, you may want to save your energy kid,” You called over. “You may need it later.”

You watched him carefully. From what you could tell through the grate, he couldn’t have been that much older than Emily. Wearing a red shirt under a blue button up and jeans. You could see his slightly tanned skin and brown hair and a face like all those teen movie quarterbacks. Maybe he was younger than Emily? Hard to say, but it was possible.

“I’m Emily,” Em told him before nodding over to you. “And this is JD.”

It was odd, having someone else introduce you but you decided that you didn’t mind. It saved another odd question later. You gave a slight wave.

“You got a name kid?” You asked him, squatting down to take a bit of a better look through the grate

You watched as he sighed sitting down on the grate, his back to the chain links that caged the three of you from the abyss below.

“Timothy,” He said.

“Well, welcome to the shaft, Tim,” You told him.

A part of you wanted to say something a bit more than that but what else was there to say. You weren’t even entirely sure what was going on. Luckily Timothy seemed to save you from the trouble.

“How long have you two been here?”

“Don’t know,” Emily admitted before looking over to you.

You could see the question on her lips as if she didn’t realize she hadn’t asked earlier and you shrugged.

“A bit,” You told them. “I think they grabbed me first, snagged me from a truck stop just outside the city.”

“Those two guys dressed in black right?” Emily asked.

You nodded and she glanced back down to Timothy.

“They woke me from a dead sleep and brought me here to the room or… Whatever this place is.”

“They tell you both the same thing they told me?” Timothy asked.

_What are you important to the human race too?_ You were tempted to ask before he continued.

“Found you off some ancestry website?”

That got you. They hadn’t said _that_ in the diner.

“They didn’t tell me shit,” Emily said, pushing off the chain link wall.

You looked up as she walked over to the far wall, leaning against it before she spoke.

“They didn’t have to they found me in jail. I got arrested for protesting on campus.”

You glanced down at Timothy and instantly you decided you liked him as well. He didn’t seem to be judging or anything like that with her. Rather he just understood. You decided then you liked him as well.

“They got a blood test from your doctor or whatever. Ran it through a database… There is something in your DNA that they want.” Timothy said.

_DNA?_ Your thoughts chimed. You felt a slight twinge, a slight pain like the start of a headache that vanished as soon as you felt it.

You hissed, a hand going to your temple, but just like that, the pain was gone… Leaving you with the sensation that you should know what it was Timothy was talking about.

_But how? And why?_

You looked up to see Emily looked at you, concern and confused.

“JD?” Emily asked.

“Sorry, I-.”

At that moment there was a loud **_BOOM_ ** that cut you off. So loud it made you three jump to your feet. You gasped as Emily cried out suddenly, her scream echoing in the shaft. You could feel the walls around you shudder, dust from the concrete pouring over you and the others. The lights flickered around the three of you in an awful strobe effect until they finally clicked off altogether. An eerie emergency light bathed the landings in blood red, and then… The shuddering, the angry growl of a boom stopped. For a few moments there was silence in the shaft, but in those few moments, your stomach turned. Whatever it was that made that sound had to be big, like a… Like a…

_Like a bomb._

Your hand quickly when to the phone in your back pocket and clicked it on, as if it would have the answers… Only to watch the screen blink before it finally faded to black. Dying one last time. A part of you knew though that you didn’t need to pull it out and type on some free search engine to check and see if it was true.

_It had happened…_

_It finally started…_

_They finally did it_ , You thought looking up the shaft as if it had answers, feeling almost faint as the dead phone slipped from your fingers. You heard it hit the grate with a metallic thud but you couldn’t be bothered to worry about cracking the screen any more than it was already.

_What was the point now…_

_It was gone…_

_And soon everything else will be too_ , Your thoughts chimed. _Mutually assured destruction, the government will bomb them and then they will bomb us some more until…_

_Until finally..._

Your stomach turned. This knowledge, this was like everything else. You...

You just _knew._

“G-god… My family…” You could hear Timothy breath yet it seemed so distant so far away.

Faintly you could hear movement and could hear the voice of the young boy below start to break reminding you how young he must be.  A slight movement to your side had you looking over to Emily and your throat seized as you could see her sway as if the knowledge of what just happened had knocked her dizzy, yet you could see tears in her eyes even in the dim red light.

You barely felt yourself move across the landing kneeling down beside her as she sunk to her hands and knees. Suddenly she threw her arms around you and was hugging you close, sobbing in your shoulder.  Your own eyes burned but you couldn’t cry. You were too filled with a strange feeling to cry.

The urge to run was over, the monster in your dreams had caught up, and you were filled with a terrible feeling that, deep in the depth of your shadowy mind...

_… You had always known this was going to happen._


End file.
